Forever Hope, Forever Love
by Everhope
Summary: Harry has an unrevealed indentity, which he must use to fight Vodlermort. But will Harry suceed? Can he overcome the changes?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**  
  
Harry has a new identitiy...his true identity. Now Volermort has returned Harry needs his true identity..and powers o be revealed. Although his powers are sronger than they were, they do not make him as strong as he needs o be. He will need to learn much more before he can defeat Voldermort, as well as learning to control his biggest weapon. Love.

> Will harry prevail or will Voldermort defeat the young wizard for good?

Read on and find out 


	2. A New Term

A New Term  
  
"Harry! We were worried; we couldn't find you on the Hogwarts Express. How come you're here already? Why didn't you come down to the feast? Did you know that Lupin is back and is our DADA teacher again?" Hermione Granger asked as she sat down next to Harry in the Gryfindor tower common room. It had been a long time since they had seen each other; as Harry had been distant throughout the holidays, and Hermione had been on holiday visiting Krum. Ron too had been busy, helping the Twins with their shop. They had chosen to change location and had brought a shop in Hogsmead, deciding it would be more profitable due to the large amount of students that visited Hogsmead during term time.  
"Long story, doesn't matter. Sorry, I forgot to owl you and let you know. Did you hear they about how they caught Pettigrew?" Harry asked, hastily avoiding some of the questions.  
"Harry I don't think there's anyone who doesn't know. He's been sentenced to Azkaban after all, and Sirius name has been cleared. Well...Ow! Hermione what was that for?" Ron asked. Hermione had dug him in the ribs as she sat down.  
Harry winced. Ron had grown a lot taller in the holidays, and Harry noticed he had new robes. He also noticed that he had just as little tact as he had done since they had met in their first year. For that matter, Hermione had just as much tact as well. Couldn't they see that Harry just wanted to be left alone? He didn't want to talk about the holidays, or last year, or even the future. He just wanted to be left alone.  
"It doesn't matter. Let's hope that this means Sirius' soul can rest now. I was at the trial by the way. I never realised how many crimes Pettigrew had committed." Harry's friends looked at him and he continued. "He confessed to a variety of crimes, betraying my parents, framing Sirius for the murders, posing as Scabbers the rat as an unregistered animagus for twelve years, to watch me until Voldemort's return." Ron flinched at hearing his name but Harry ignored it and continued. "He also swore to participating in various other crimes including helping Voldemort to return and murdering and torturing Muggles and other Wizards."  
"Well he got what he deserved, although dare I say it that Azkaban would be worse if the Dementors were still faithful to the Ministry." Hermione stated.  
"Yea well. How was your holidays'?" Harry asked them both, desperately trying to change the subject.  
"I visited Krum." Hermione blushed. "Nothing happened, but it was so nice to see him again. He's changed a lot. Oh stop scowling Ron, you're just jealous because I stayed with Krum, and was late meeting you in Diagon Alley."  
"That's a point Harry. Didn't you get my owl about meeting us in Diagon Alley? Well it doesn't matter. Mum said you most probably didn't feel like it and not to bother you. What happened in the holidays though? Mum tried owling you and went out her mind when you didn't reply, and snape kept being sent over ours too. Fred and George let me use the extenable ears, and all I heard was that the Order were looking for you..." Ron saw the look on Harry's face and changed the subject. But still mate. You missed the funniest thing..."  
Harry faked a yawn. "I'm tired Ron. I'll talk to you both tomorrow. With that he walked up the stairs to the dorm, ignoring Ron as he tried to talk to Harry.  
  
"RON! How insensitive can you get? He's most probably still upset about Sirius, why else do you think he never came to Diagon Alley with us. I expect Dumbledore got his books for him." Hermione scolded.  
"Well I doubt he wanted to hear about your holiday with Krum either. You can be so insensitive at times. You know what, I think I'm gonna go up to bed as well." With that Ron stalked up to the dorm.  
Crookshanks followed Ron, hissing and pitting at him. Hermione sighed and walked up to her room. She wondered why Harry hadn't met them. Surely he wasn't still grieving. And why had Mrs Weasley been so edgy about Harry. Come to think of it...why had Snape been there the morning she had arrived at The Burrow, looking unusually worried? Why was the Order looking for Harry? Had he really gone missing?  
Hermione shrugged it off and fell asleep, unlike Harry, who lay awake, tossing and turning in his dorm, as Ron snored into the silence. 


	3. Revelations

Revelations  
  
"Harry, The Headmaster wishes to see you in his office, the password's 'canary creams'" Professor McGonagall said as Harry entered the Transfiguration class.  
Harry rolled his eyes wondering what he had done now. It had only been a few months since he was sat in Dumbledore's office after the death of his Godfather Sirius and he wondered why he had to see him.  
"Canary cream's" Harry mumbled as he approached the stone gargoyle. It sprung aside and Harry mounted the stairs, each step filling him with a mixture of wonder and fear. He only ever seemed to be in this office when it was bad news.  
"Take a seat Harry" Dumbledore's voice broke into his thoughts. Harry reluctantly sat down on the nearest chair. Immediately hot chocolate appeared on a tray in front of Dumbledore. Passing a cup to Harry Dumbledore blue eyes clouded. It was rare for the wizard to show his emotions, and it made Harry feel worried.  
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  
"Are you okay Professor?"  
Dumbledore sipped his hot chocolate then looked at Harry straight in the eyes.  
"I know this summer wasn't easy Harry. You were looking forward to living with Sirius and that was snatched cruelly from you. I know you began cutting yourself in the holidays.."  
"How did you...?" Harry gasped.  
"We shall discuss that later. Harry, the news I bring is not bad, but I fear that you may not take this well. I think it is best that I explain once you have seen this."  
The fireplace in Dumbledore's room crackled, as a figure entered via Floo. The figure landed on his feet, much like Sirius used to, Harry remembered. Pain ran through his body as he remembered his departed Godfather. After losing his parents Sirius had been his only parent figure, now he was gone Harry felt more alone than ever. Memories flooded back into his mind as he remembered watching his Godfather die. The mysterious figure, with his back to Harry looked at Dumbledore, waiting for permission from the old wizard to turn around. Dumbledore nodded and the figure slowly turned, removing the hood that covered his head.  
"Sirius? No it can't be. Your dead, I watched you die. You fell through the veil. Dumbledore? Is this? No. You would have told me! You knew how badly I was hurting, you wouldn't have let me go through the summer I've had!" Harry's emotions raged and he stood up, wanting to escape from this sick joke. His godfather was dead, he'd just dealt with it, and he'd just picked up the pieces of his broken heart and glued them back together. He'd just learnt how to survive without his Godfather.  
Harry's world began to spin, his already exhausted mind unable to take in what stood before him. Sirius. It couldn't be. He was dead. He had watched his godfathers face disappear through the veil never to be seen again. He watched that handsome marauder's face disappear. Sirius death had replayed through his head until he had finally learnt how to block it out. This could not be happening. Harry's legs began to wobble, as though the bones had turned to jelly. The last thing he saw was Fawkes flying over towards him as his world turned black and his head rushed to meet his feet.  
Several moments later, Harry came round. His vision was still blurry and he found that he was led on the couch, by the window. He slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, looking stunned and confused. "Accio glasses" Harry muttered wand in hand, and his glasses flew into his spare hand. He placed them on his nose before turning his attention to the two figures sat opposite sides of Dumbledore's desk. The old man eyes seemed to be twinkling in a way Harry had rarely seen them twinkling.  
"Yes Harry, it is Sirius. I'm sorry that you had to find it out this way, but I made an error of judgement, it was the mistake of an old man. I thought you would handle it better if you saw Sirius first and heard what he had to say. I did not realise it would put such a strain on you." Dumbledore got up from his seat and walked towards Harry, handing him the cup of hot chocolate he had previously started. Harry gingerly took the cup, and took a sip. Instantly energy rushed through Harry and the reality of the situation came back to him. He jumped up from the couch.  
"You evil, stupid, lying BASTARD! How could you do this to me? How could you stand there at the end of last term and tell me that he was dead! How could you make me spend this summer with the Dursleys? You know how much they despise me! But you don't care do you, as long as I was out the way! And how could you do this to me Sirius...we were meant to spend the summer together! But didn't that matter to you?!" Harry ran for the door and reached for the handle. It was locked. "Let me out!"  
Dumbledore looked fondly over his half-moon spectacles. "No, not until you hear what Sirius has to say!"  
"I don't care what he has to say, or what you have to say. I don't care, not after what you've done to me! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" Harry exploded into tears, the pain that had been living inside him escaping him, breaking through his wards like a river breaking through a dam.  
"Child, you need to listen to your godfather. You have every right to hate us, perhaps we should have told you sooner. But Sirius had his own reasons for not telling you, and I felt that it was up to him when you learnt this news"  
"Go on then," Harry said, stubbornly taking the seat Dumbledore had transfigured next to the desk.  
"Albus, maybe you should explain..." Sirius began  
"Nonsense Sirius"  
"Harry, Dumbledore did not know that I was alive until nearly the end of August. I did not know that you thought I was dead. I was confused when Albus and Severus found me."  
Harry looked confused and Sirius realised he had not chosen the best place to begin.  
"Sorry, I'll start from the beginning. Whilst you were at Hogwarts, Kreacher began to get funny. I mean funnier than normal. He started leaving the house a lot and I thought one day that I saw him at the end of the road. I left the house, not thinking to use my Animagus form, and when I arrived at the end of the road I was cursed. I was unable to move and I was dragged away. I was taken to a location that I do not know, and Kreacher would come and feed me. The food was stale and only just enough to keep me alive. After many weeks of this Kreacher did not visit for many weeks, then when he did, the curse was lifted, I was able to move, but was very weak. I couldn't even transform. I was hit with the Crutacious curse several times and then I blacked out. The next thing I remember I was staring into the face of Albus, in the attic of Grimmauld Place."  
Harry took a few minutes to accept all this information. His brain was buzzing with many questions. Who did Harry see die then? Why were Snape & Dumbledore in the attic? Were they looking for Sirius will? Harry never realised that there were a pair of blue eyes watching him as he thought through these questions. Harry's thoughts flicked to Kreacher. Hermione had told them to be nice to the house elf! And now look what he had done. Ok, so Kreacher could have been treated nicer... but that did not justify what Kreacher had done.  
Dumbledore read Harry's mind, for the first time, trying to understand the emotions this boy was feeling. Sirius stared at Dumbledore, unable to tell anymore of the story. He wished Harry would talk, say something, anything. Abuse he could take, silence he couldn't.  
"Harry, the Sirius you saw die was a Death Eater, using Poly-Juice potion. Kreacher rescued Sirius from the attic of the Malfoy's house. He took him back to the attic and we found him there. We were clearing through the house, as we thought the memories would be too hard for a grieving child to deal with. We were, to say the least, surprised when we found Sirius. Severus immediately helped Sirius into a room, and stayed with Sirius until he regained his strength. That's what he was doing there the day that you arrived. He was, amused by your duelling skills, but he never meant to hurt you, he didn't want you to see Sirius in the state that he was in. Kreacher is being punished for his actions, and he knows he has serious consequences to pay. We believe he may have been possessed by Voldermort."  
Harry looked at Sirius, tears running down his face.  
"I thought you'd died." He said, flinging his arms around Sirius neck, breathing in his smell. How he had missed the familiar scent of his Godfather. Sirius embraced him back, relieved that the 16 year old he had so fondly watched grow up, and understood that he had not done this to hurt him.  
Harry and Sirius basked in each other's presence for a moment, forgetting the presence of Dumbledore for a while. Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled with joy, as a tear escaped his eye.  
There was a loud pop as Dobby the house elf appeared. Sirius and Harry broke away from each other, and Harry re took his seat.  
"Dobby can you ask Remus and Severus to come to my office please, and we will require some nibbles too."  
"May I go now professor?" Harry enquired. He was excited about telling Ron and Hermione the news. He couldn't wait to see their reactions, knowing that they would both be as overjoyed as he was. Sirius death had hit them hard too; they had known Sirius...more fondly as Snuffles...since they had first met him in their third year.  
"Not yet I'm afraid Harry. We have some more news for you...only you may be a little more...prepared for this than anyone else." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled again, and inside a part of Harry stirred.  
Lupin and Snape entered the office together, both looking confused.  
"You asked to see us Albus?" Lupin inquired.  
"Yes, I have an important revelation to do with Harry that directly effects you." Harry gulped. He wasn't so sure he was going to like this news either.  
Sirius snickered; he knew what was coming next and hid his grin behind his long black hair. Severus wasn't half in for a surprise. 


	4. True Identity

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or anything to do with Harry Potter. I will introduce some of my own characters and Harry Potter fans will know who is who. J.K Rowling owns the Harry Potter shebang. I'm just a 14 year old that wants to write. This I the only disclaimer I'm writing because they're so annoying!!! Also, I do not own all my plot ideas; my friend snort of laughter a.k.a Lora helped me with them.  
  
True Identity  
  
Remus & Severus looked stunned. They kept staring from the letters in their hands over to Harry, then up at Dumbledore. They failed to see Sirius sly smile. Sirius was the least surprised, and his surprise was only because he never realised the full extent of the revelation.  
After the two men had entered the office and taken a seat, Dumbledore had pointed his wand towards Harry and uttered 'Revillio Complexiton.' Harry's figure had instantly begun to change. His hair grew long and sleek, no longer uncontrollable like his father's but with streaks of red, the same red that Lily's hair had been. It came down over his shoulders and hung mid-way down his back. His figure had changed, his chest had developed breasts & his pelvis had developed womanly hips. His skin had become lightly purer in colour and his lips and eye lashes more defined. His cheekbones shone with a hint of natural blush. The lightening scar, and pure emerald eyes were the only indication that Harry Potter was stood before them.  
Harry turned towards Dumbledore, blushing slightly. It had been a long time since her true form had been revealed and she knew not what she looked like. Dumbledore smiled, and produced a mirror from his pocket. Harry took it and glanced nervously at her reflection. She inhaled sharply, amazed at what she saw. She saw a pretty girl looking back at her, natural beauty though, as she wore no make up.  
Phineas Nigellus wolf whistled at her before talking to his great great grandson.  
"I may not think highly of you, but that is one stunning Goddaughter you have Sirius!" All the other portraits agreed at Harry's beauty.  
"You're a, a...a girl!" Remus finally exclaimed, his mouth hanging open slightly. Inside he was attracted to her, but he was currently too overwhelmed with amazement that someone he was so close to was the opposite person from what he knew. Severus arched his brow with amusement; he was shocked of course, and pleasantly surprised. Harry looked a lot like hi mother now, with the red streaks in her hair.  
"Put your tongue back in your mouth Severus. That's my goddaughter you're gawping at, and your pupil. Not only that but I don't think Albus wants drool over his floor." Sirius did not like the way Severus was staring at Harry. She was attractive indeed, and Sirius himself was attracted to her, but as her Godfather he knew she would not like the attention on her.  
"I'm sure Albus has already had enough drool on hiss floor seeing all the times Snuffles has been in here." Snapped Severus back, retaining his prominent scowl. "And if I remember you haven't always lived up to your Godfather duties, so there's no point trying to make up for it now!"  
Sirius growled deeply in his throat. He was about to retaliate when Harry spoke up.  
"Headmaster is there any chance I could erm...change out of these robes? They are not...accustomed to fit my erm...figure." Harry said uncomfortably. She felt very self-conscious with these men staring at her, and she felt even more so because her robes were pulling at the top of her chest.  
"Of course Harry" Dumbledore smiled. He took from his desk Gryfindor robes, female ones, and handed them to Harry. Harry gratefully took the robe and left to change.  
Snape, Remus and Lupin all turned to look at Dumbledore.  
"Why did you want us to know that first?" Lupin enquired.  
Sirius shot a murderous glance at Severus then said, "What right did he have to be here anyway?"  
"Sirius, shortly after Harry was born, I received 3 letters. One was to me, asking that if James and Lily ever died, that the over two letter would be given to the people stated on the envelopes, when Harry' true identity was revealed. James and Lily chose one person each and wrote their own binding spell for the letters. When the seal is broken on them, the reader is bound to protect Harry for life, or until she dissolves the protectorship." Dumbledore removed from his pocket two letters and handed them to Snape and Remus.  
Snape eyed the letter with caution, expecting it to be cursed, or worse a howler from James.  
"They've been in my Gringots vault ever since I received them, so they are quite safe. The only magic attached to them is the binding spell for the protectorship." Dumbledore's blue eyes smiled, reflecting the clear blue sky that could be seen out his window.  
Snape continued to look cautiously at the letter. The headmaster evidently trusted him with the responsibility, and that meant a lot of him, not that he would let it show. But still...'If I don't open it...I will be letting down Albus. If I do open it then I will be stuck babysitting the Potter brat. However. She was beautiful. Maybe he should open it.'  
Lupin was already opening hi letter. A blue jet shot from the seal on the envelope as it was broken and hit Lupin in his amber eyes, sealing his protectorship. He read to the end of the letter, and then looked up at Sirius smiling.  
Snape glared at Sirius and opened his letter. A green jet of light ran through the letter into his hands, sealing his protectorship. He read through the letter twice, taking in Lily's intricate handwriting. He then looked up at his mentor.  
"So you are the chief protector." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Dumbledore smiled.  
"Yes I am. It is up to me to help guide you, Remus and Sirius in looking after Harry. I also help to protect not only her, but you three too."  
Harry chose that moment to re enter. He looked confused by the letters in Remus and Severus' hands, and she wondered why they had been talking in low voices.  
"Child, I have a letter for you." Dumbledore said, motioning for her to sit down. She stayed where she was. "It's from you parents." He held out the letter and Harry took it from him. Her heart skipped a beat and she was filled with joy and dread. She tore the envelope open and read the letter inside. First her father had written, explaining about the protectorship and what it was for. Then her mum had written, explaining Severus and Remus were her Protectors along with her Godfather Sirius; provided they had opened their letter and accepted their roles. She also explained that there was one more person that was needed to complete the protectorship, but that Harry was to choose that person herself. Harry was to choose the bearer of the Dragons tear. The dragon's tear would reflect Harry vision when he was in trouble, or faced great evil. Only the bearer would be able to see into the tear, and would be alerted to the need to look in it when the dragon tear become cold and moist.  
Harry looked inside the envelope. Here was a small white-gold chain, with a dragons tear on the end. Harry ran her finger over it, it felt cool and smooth to touch and she wondered where such an item could have come from. It reminded her of something from the department of mysteries. That made her shudder. She dropped the tear into her robes pocket, alongside the letter.  
"So you're my Protectors right? Padfoot...Moony &...err...Snape." She was confused as to why Snape had been chosen as her Protector; he loathed Harry, especially as she was James' son. Him and James were enemies, yet he was now protector of someone who James protected with his life.  
Her mind began to spin again. The new hormones in her body, instead of the testosterone, combined with the stress and confusion she had been through was too much on her mind. As her world became darker and spun around, she gave in to the welcome peacefulness of the darkness. She fell to the floor and her Protectors leaped to catch her. Remus got to her first, caching her crumpled body moments before it hit the floor.  
He looked at her pale, clammy skin, and realised just how attractive she was.  
"She's fainted Albus. The stress of the situation must be too much for her."  
"Yes, I forgo, after all she been through, these two revelations must be quite unbelievable. We should take her to her room so she can rest."  
"WHAT! She can't go back to her room; she's a GIRL for heavens sake! And you can't put her in the girl room; they all think she's a HE!" Sirius roared.  
"Calm down Sirius. Albus is aware of this." Remus laid a gentle hand on Sirius shoulders.  
"Sirius, I have given Harry her own room. Right now the only access to it is via floo from Severus office, or mine, so that she may have time to rest before she has to face her friends. I'll floo with her; It's easiest for me to take another person. Dumbledore walked over to Remus and took Harry's unconscious body from him. He walked over to the fireplace and took some of the powder out the vase next to it. Throwing it into the fire he said "Harry's room." With that he stepped into the flames, and they both left the office.  
In Harry's room it was similar to the layout she was used to. The bed was the same type; only there were more pillows on it. There were bedside table on both sides, and Harry's belongings had already been moved into the room by one of Hogwarts many house elves. Dumbledore gently laid Harry onto her bed. The Protectors arrived and sat around Harry's bed. Sirius looking worried took her hand, while Remus laid a protective hand on Harry. Only Severus stayed at the end of Harry's bed. After all the years of being bitter at the Potter child, he was not yet ready to fully lay aside how he felt. As he watched her unconscious he felt inside him emotions move that had not been moved in a long time.  
Harry's eyes began to flicker open and she rolled onto her back. "Where am I?" she mumbled. "What happened?"  
"You fainted Harry. This is your room from now on okay?" Harry cast a blurred glance over the room. She put a hand up to her face and realised her glasses weren't there. Sirius noticed what Harry was doing and handed them to her from the robe of his pocket. She put them on and took a better look around the room.  
"There's no door," Harry stated, unable to hide the slight sarcastic tone in her voice. Inside she was screaming that she wanted to be left alone, but she did not feel comfortable enough yet to talk about her feelings.  
"Yes Harry. It's best that you get some rest without being disturbed" Dumbledore continued. "Today has been a big strain on you, and you need to regain your energy before you talk to your friends. You have been excused off the rest of this afternoons lessons and I will go and tell Ron and Hermione about Sirius return momentarily." He motioned for the protectors to leave, and he stepped into the fire again.  
"I'll be back later love, ok? You get some rest." Sirius fondly kissed the top of her head. A tingle ran through Harry. She rolled over to get a better look at him.  
"Sweet dreams Harry." Lupin said, his amber eyes connecting with her emerald eyes. He blushed, pleased by his affection. She watched as Sirius disappeared through the fire, closely followed by Remus.  
Severus regarded the young Gryfindor from where he was stood. She looked so young and vulnerable. Beautiful too. Harry was led on her side, not aware of the presence of her third protector. It took Severus a while to realise that her eyes were glazed, and that tears were trickling down her face. 'Oh Merlin. She's crying. Where's Sirius? I don't know what to say to her! I know I'm meant to comfort her but how?! She's James's daughter though, why should I help her? She's just like him.' Severus' thoughts swam back through all the times he had seen her in the corridor. Not one time had she been at fault. She wasn't like James. She was just like himself. 'Oh Merlin.'  
He walked over and sat on the side of the bed behind her. He awkwardly put a hand on her back, trying to offer her some sort of reassurance. Sensing the contact Harry rolled over, her tear-streaked face was the only true expression of how she felt. "I'm scared. What if my friends reject me now I'm not who they thought I was? They're my world! I don't think I could bear life without them." Snape looked at her and he felt a pang of sympathy.  
"Nonsense Potter...err Harry. You are still you, and if your friends cannot accept what outwardly you really are then they are not true friends." Snape silently cursed himself. Harry had opened up a bit of her heart to him, looking for comfort, yet he had not given her what she needed. "Rest. Sirius will be back later." He walked over to the fireplace and stepped into the flames to enter his office, casting a quick glance back before he did so.  
  
Harry sat up, grabbing the nearest pillow and hurled it at the wall with an angered yell. 'Why am I always alone?' she asked herself. "Why," she hurled a new pillow at the wall, "doesn't" she did it again, "anyone" she threw another, "understand!" she hurled the pillow full strength at the wall, breaking into hysterical sobs. She levitated the pillows back onto her bed, and flopped down onto them. She picked one up and hugged it, longing for some sort of comfort and security. "Why me?" she sobbed. "Why do all these things have to happen to me? I didn't ask for all this, I don't want to be famous, I just want to be Harry!" she continued to cry bitterly, rocking herself to and fro. Her exhaustion soon took over, and she cried herself into a sleep, still clinging to the pillow.  
  
Harry was more tired than she realised. Sirius returned a few hours, to see if Harry wanted to join himself and Dumbledore for dinner. When he entered the room he saw Harry still sleeping and sat at the end of her bed, so as not to disturb her. He couldn't help but realise the pillow she clung to, and it made him realise just how young she was. Her hair hung over her face, and he reached over and swept it back, looking at her face. He was surprised by the tearstains, but thought nothing more of it than teenage hormones. Today must have been very hard on her. "I'll be back later love," he said, gently stroking her hair. Harry stirred but did not wake, and Sirius walked back over to the fire, throwing the white powder onto it and declaring his destination. As the green flames flickered then went back to a dull orange glow, the room became darker.  
  
Harry slept until early evening, waking to find Remus sat on the end of her bed. "Hello sleepy head," he said. "Sirius came in earlier but you were still asleep so he thought it best to leave you. Dumbledore's told Hermione and Ron about Sirius, they were ecstatic! They asked where you were too Harry, Dumbledore said that you were ill and in a confined part of the Hospital wing. He hopes you didn't mind, but they were going mad because they couldn't find you. Anyway, I have homework to mark, so that I can have sometime to with you tomorrow, so I'm afraid your going to be left on your own again for now. Try and rest Harry, you still look shattered." Remus stood up, and like Sirius had earlier, kissed her on the head. She smiled and blushed again, and he did too. He walked over to the fireplace and left.  
Harry quickly fell asleep again, it beat dwelling on the future, for no matter how much she wanted to, she could not avoid what she would have to do the next morning. Sirius came up again to check on her, but finding her asleep decided to leave her be.  
  
The next morning Harry was awoken by one of the house elves, she heard the pop as they brought Harry breakfast. She had asked the night before for nothing too heavy; she had unusually lost her appetite from nerves, and didn't want to throw up over her two best friends. She ate the grapefruit that she had been given then fell back onto her bed, in a light sleep.  
The next person to enter her room was Severus. Harry had awoken as she heard the fire burst into flames again, as it had only been glowing embers, red like her hair, when she had fallen asleep. Severus had his hands behind his back, and he walked quietly over to her bed.  
"It's alright, I am awake." Harry rolled over. She could feel the atmosphere in the room, and had guessed it was Severus for he always was uncomfortable when alone with her. It did not take a genius to work out that there were still old feelings for Harry.  
Severus arched his brow. "So I see. Harry. I knew you had no...feminine muggle clothes and I had to go Diagon Alley; Neville succeeded in causing another meltdown yesterday, so I thought I brought you these." Snape produced from behind him a parcel. Harry blushed, surprised yet happy. It had been the first time she had been given clothes that weren't either hand me downs from Dudley or a knitted sweater from Mrs Weasley. She was secretly pleased.  
"You shouldn't have" Harry objected. "I'll pay you back, you didn't have to spend money on me." Snape's face remained the same, showing no emotion. Inside he was cursing himself. 'Maybe it was too much; after all I did hate her. But I just want to see her in something more like her. She's been forced to wear her cousins old clothes, and although they cover her scars..' He had temporarily forgot, he had meant to talk to her about that. 'Still...she deserves clothes of her true nature.'  
"Nonsense Harry, I suggested to Severus that you may appreciate some new clothes, and I paid for some of it myself. You are like a child to me, and I want to see my children happy. Now why don't you see what he brought?" Harry jumped and Severus couldn't help but smirk. Harry had not realised that Dumbledore had entered the room.  
Harry carefully opened the package. Inside was a pair of knee high leather boots, in black, with a manageable heel, as she was not yet used to girls shoes. There was two tops, one emerald green one, with long flared sleeves, that would more than cover her hands. The material was light and floaty; yet not see through like most light muggle tops. The other top was sleeveless and black, much thicker than the other one. There was also a pair of grey/silver jeans, and a knee length white/blue denim skirt.  
"We'll leave you to get dressed Harry."  
  
Moments later there was a pop, as a house elf appeared with a bag. She put it on the bedside table on the far side from Harry and then disappeared with another pop. Harry rolled over again and looked in the bag. There were three bras and some under wear for Harry, she blushed, still not able to accept that she was a girl. She had known all of long of course, but having got so used to pretending, she was surprised and a little embarrassed of her true identity.  
'Stupid bra' Harry's fingers kept slipping as she tried to do it up behind her. She had gotten up and decided it was about time she got dressed. This was the first time she had put on a bra and she wasn't exactly sure how to do it. She knew the basics but had never needed to master the technique. After 10 minutes of wrestling with the clip she finally got it do up. She looked at the tops, not sure which one she wanted to wear. She pulled the green one over her head and walked over to the mirror. It made her eyes shine and she felt momentarily lost in her reflection. Not through vanity, but in wonder that the person staring back really was her. She shivered and decided to try the black top on. IT then occurred to her to try the black top on top the green one.  
"Very nice" The mirror said. "The green brings out your eyes, and the black will please a certain potions teacher." Harry glared at the mirror. She had learnt from her time in the boy dorm that it was pointless to argue with mirror. They never listen.  
She went back over to the bed where she had laid the skirt next to the jeans. She decided on the jeans, not wanting to seem over dressed. She walked back over to the mirror, at looked self-consciously at her reflection. She could see no out standing beauty, just a young girl, with black hair, streaked with fiery red, just like her temper. Her figure was not the stick thin idealistic of the wizarding or muggle world, yet she could not say she was fat. The green top certainly brought out her eyes, making them seem more gem like, yet the full effect was lost behind her glasses. She smiled as the fireplace crackled to life.  
Sirius, Remus and Severus all appeared, one after the other. Harry kept her back to them for a while, enjoying the look on there faces. Severus' face remained blank, but that didn't bother her. She had given up trying to work him out long ago. Sirius was staring at her, mouth slightly open, shocked at how his goddaughter looked. Remus was smiling, pleasantly surprised at what he saw. Harry turned around and smiled.  
"Good morning Sirius, Remus." She looked at Snape. "Thank you Professor Snape. I feel much more like myself now."  
"I told you earlier Harry, you can call me Severus when we're not in lesson time. After all I am one of your protectors."  
"Why are you buying clothes for my goddaughter?" Sirius snarled.  
"Else she'd be stuck in muggle boys clothe, and I'm sure she wanted to look more like herself. You can't say you don't like them, I saw the way you looked at her!" Severus answered back.  
Sirius came over and put an arm round Harry. "Dumbledore has told Hermione and Ron that they can see you in 10minutes. We came to check that you were ready. We'll stay in the room but we're not getting involved, you need to deal with your friends reactions, and they need to get over the shock of what they learn."  
Harry nodded let Sirius hug her. She wasn't ready, but she knew she never would be. She went back over to the bed where she had left her boots and she put them on, zipping them up before standing up. She started to walk in them and tripped, landing in the arms of Remus. "Sorry about that. I guess I'm still not used to everything, let alone trying to walk in these things." She laughed as Remus set her back on her feet. Moments later Dumbledore entered the room. Pointing his wand at the wall he removed the concealment charm on the door. He apparrated three chairs from the air and let the protectors sit down on them, then drew up the chair from beside Harry's bed.  
There was a knock at the door and Harry turned to shoot a pleading glance at his protectors. The door was opened and in walked Ron & Hermione. Harry blinked, and in that instant Dumbledore vanished, along with the protectors and there chairs.  
"Sods." Harry muttered. "Thought you were meant to be here for moral support, not playing hide away!"  
Ron looked at Hermione, mouth wide open with shock; they were still stood in the doorway, staring at the figure stood by the window.  
"Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry turned around to face her friends, a weak smile playing on her lips. Hermione immediately stalked over and slapped Harry round the face, leaving a bright red handprint on her.

A/N sorry for ne spelling mistake, i have tried to find them all, but when u have a headache and stare at a screen too long it kinda makes it hard to find them all :S


	5. Mixed Reactions

**Mixed Reactions**  
  
"Bitch! That's her best mate and my goddaughter! How dare she!" Sirius started to get up, wanting to protect and defend Harry. Remus restrained him, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling him back into his seat.  
"We said we wouldn't get involved. Harry's got to learn to deal with emotions, as a girl, and she need to learn to deal with people's reactions to who she is. We may be her protectors but we have to let her grow up Padfoot. I know it hurts, but you can't keep her in a bubble." Sirius settled back in his seat scowling viciously. Next to him Severus sat, scowling too.  
"Miss Granger is a clever witch intellectually, but she has a lot to learn about friendships and emotions. I dare say that Harry most probably deserved that slap though." Severus stated dryly. Sirius growled at him, his last nerve starting to fray. It appeared to him that Snape was enjoying the scene in front of him.  
Meanwhile Harry spun around to stare out the window, hand held to her face. She could feel her skin burning underneath her fingers, and it surprised her that it was Hermione who had done this. She had expected Ron to be most hurt and angry by the revelation, yet it appeared that Ron was more stunned.  
"What the hell Hermione!" Ron pulled Hermione away from Harry. Hermione's face was red with anger and she fought against Ron, lashing out, trying to scratch her way out of his grasp.  
"This better be some kind of sick joke! We were going out of our mind with worry. First Professor McGonagall talks to you, then you're not in transfiguration, then she won't tell us where you are. Then Professor Dumbledore tells us about you being ill and that we couldn't see you. And now that we can see you, you're stood here in drag!" Hermione's normally calm logical mind was ablaze with confusion, anger & worry. She did not understand how this could have happened.  
Harry's green eyes had glazed over and she stared out the window. Severus heard a little voice inside of him say 'Oh Merlin' and he stifled it. It wasn't that he cared for Harry he told himself. It was that he couldn't bear to see girls cry. That's what made it so easy to pick on Harry when she was a boy. He was James' son, not Lily's daughter. Severus always intimidated boys because they didn't cry. He looked back at Harry and felt long buried emotions move in him.  
Ron's face turned pale as he saw Harry's face as she stared out the window towards the Forbidden Forest, watching the late morning sun penetrate through the trees. 'Harry's never cried before.' Ron thought. 'He wouldn't cry over a lie either. He was always so modest and secretive, never like the rest of us, never getting dressed in the same room as us.' Ron looked over at Hermione. She had pulled out her wand and had it directed at Harry, her brown eyes filled with rage.  
"Hermione! Put your wand away! Your not going to hex Harry, I wont let you! Harry's not lying!" Harry turned around. The sleeves of her top had concealed her wand that she held in her hand and she was grateful. Ron had pulled out his wand and trained it on Hermione. She made no move to put her wand away and Ron didn't want to chance Harry getting hurt. She was already going through a lot, and didn't need this. Harry took her hand away from her cheek; a brilliant red handprint was still burning on her pale face.  
'Expelluramus' Harry said, pulling out her wand and disarming Hermione. At the same time Ron had cried 'Stupefy'  
"Ron!" Harry was surprised that Ron had found it in him to do that to someone who was his best mate. Ron looked up a sheepish smile on his face.  
"Ron I owe you both an explanation. Help Hermione onto the bed. She won't appreciate coming round on the floor. And you know what her tempers are like." Ron looked at Harry and then levitated Hermione's unconscious form onto the bed, after he sat down beside her.  
'She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping. I wish I could tell her how beautiful she is' Ron thought. Harry and Ron sat in silence for a few minutes. Harry was trying to collect her thoughts, but her mind was an endless maze. Harry sat on the wooden chest at the end of the bed and stared at the wall.  
Ron couldn't help but look at Harry. He couldn't get his head around it although he did believe it. Ron looked at Harry, taking in her beauty. Harry noticed Ron's gaze and shifted uncomfortably.  
"Pervert" Sirius muttered. Remus elbowed him.  
"What about Ginny?" Ron suddenly asked Harry.  
"I never gave her any indication that I liked her, never for a moment did I lead her on Ron." Her voice grew steadily stronger. "If anything I hope she will accept me more as a girl, because it means I can relate better to her."  
A few minutes later Hermione came to. Her eyes flickered for a moment before she realised where she was and what had just happened.  
"RON! You had no reason to stupefy me! What would Professor Dumbledore say about you using magic against another pupil?"  
"Shut up Hermione! Let Harry explain."  
Harry shifted uncomfortably again. "Well this has been an erm... shock on you both. I'm sorry I haven't been able to tell you sooner, but it was for protection. See my parents knew that Voldermort was after them and my parents knew that if Voldermort ever killed them he would be more ruthless to a girl then a boy. Voldermort would have given girls over to the 'Dementors' kiss', let them grow up soulless, then use them to create his heirs. My parents would rather have me be dead then face life without a soul, being abused in that way. So they, alongside Dumbledore and Sirius, cast concealment charms over me. Charms that would only be lifted when my true identity could save my life and others, instead of just leading me to that fate."  
"You defeated Voldermort though, so why wasn't the concealment lifted when you came to Hogwarts, or when you were left with the Durselys? Do they know?" Ron glared at Hermione as she asked so many questions.  
"I still needed to be protected. The death eaters were and are still at large, and Voldermort was weakened not dead. My magic ability was limited and I was still likely to be used if my true identity was revealed. He still might, but my powers are stronger now and I am stronger still without the charms. My magic energy was always trying to fight the charms, so it meant I was always weaker than I should have been. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but if anyone had ever found out and accidentally let slip, I would have been very vulnerable to Voldermort. I wanted to tell you so badly but I couldn't.... and yes...the Durselys know that I'm a girl. Dumbledore informed them, but they are bound by a spell so that they cannot tell anyone." Harry looked up at her friends again.  
"But aren't you still vulnerable then?" Ron asked. He suddenly realised that he had momentarily been attracted to Harry, and he realised that Voldermort would be possibly more inclined to use Harry because of her looks, and the fact that she had defeated him previously.  
"Yes I am still vulnerable. That's why before they died my parents chose three people to be my Protectors. Sirius, Remus, and Professor Snape. I'll explain more about that another day though. You've had enough to take in recently, what with Sirius and me. And that's also why you can't tell anyone, not even your families!"  
Ron on hearing one of the Protectors names went pale. "SNAPE! That cold hearted, greasy haired git! He has the emotional competence of a brick! Not only that but he hates you!"  
Severus underneath his invisibility cloak glared. Sirius smirked, laughing at his rival's annoyance.  
"Snape's not cold hearted, he just doesn't like to show his emotions. Just because he doesn't show his emotions Ron doesn't mean he hasn't got any! He's a great potions master too!" Harry's temper flared, and Ron immediately backed down.  
"Ok Ok, if he's your Protector the he can't be _that_ bad." Ron looked down at his watch.  
"Harry look, is there anything else you need to tell me? I know your telling the truth, and I can see this is a big strain on you. If you want to talk more than you know I'm always there for you. It's just that Fred and George have asked to meet me. They say they've got me a present." Ron gulped and Harry laughed. The twins were renowned for being jokers; after all, they had opened their own joke shop. Harry got up and went over to Ron. Ron gave her a long hug. "We're still best mates right Harry? Your being a girl don't change that?"  
"Yes Ron we're still best mates." Ron gave Harry another hug, and then left, leaving Harry with Hermione.  
"Hermione? Please talk to me. I didn't want to keep this a secret. Especially not from you. I so badly wanted to tell you the truth. You were the one person I thought would understand. But remember when you had that time-turner and you couldn't tell us, it was like that. I didn't want you to..." Harry broke off, giving up. She looked over at her bedside cabinet and walked over to it. She thought maybe leaving Hermione time to thin would help. She unlocked the draw and slipped her non-wand hand inside, her fingers hungrily searching for the metal inside. Her fingers found it and close around it, holding it tightly. She concealed her hand inside her sleeve, took it out the draw, and then tucked the metal into her jeans pocket.  
She sat down next to Hermione, and immediately received another slap. Harry reeled back before slapping Hermione back. That was the beginning of a fight. The two girls rolled over on the bed, slapping, scratching, kicking and biting. Hermione flipped Harry and they both hit the ground with a thud. This threw Hermione off course, and Harry seized the opportunity to get to her feet, pulling out her wand. She aimed a hex at Hermione, but she rolled out the way, pulling out her own wand.  
Soon red and blue jets were shooting out of their wands. Hermione aimed a leg locker curse at Harry but Harry blocked it, reflecting it straight back at Hermione who jumped it. Eventually Hermione let down her guard and Harry yelled 'Expelluramus' Hermione's wand again shot from her hand, and Harry caught it.  
"Hermione? Why are we fighting? I thought you understood?!"  
"It's you that doesn't understand Harry! I accept that you're a girl and why you couldn't tell us. It's not that! It's the fact that you're trying to take Ron away from me! I love him! But now you've come along, pretty and famous, and you know that if you asked him, he'd go out with you." Hermione wailed.  
"What? I don't like Ron like that! You and him are my best friends. I would never come between you and Ron. I've known you've liked him for ages; I wouldn't ever try to come between you and him! All I want is for you to be my friend!" Harry exploded into tears. Rejection hurt so much. Hermione looked at Harry.  
"Harry, I'm sorry." Hermione ran out the room, tears streaming down her face. Harry stood next to her bed. Alone.  
The Protectors removed their invisibility cloaks.  
"Dumbledore had to leave I'm afraid Harry. He did say that he was very proud of how you were handling the situation though." Remus stood up and started to walk over to Harry. She had gone pale and her green eyes and lost their sparkle. She was shaking and crying and looked so alone. Severus and Sirius both looked at her, stunned. They had never really seen Harry this upset. Remus tried to give her a hug but Harry shrugged him off.  
"Go away! Don't pretend you care. Why didn't you help me? Why didn't you break up the fight? How could you just stand there and watch?" Harry was furious. Remus tried to hug Harry again. She backed away towards the door, grabbing her cloak and ran out the door. "I hate you," she yelled.  
The Protectors stood, shocked by Harry's outburst. 'Girl's can be so bitchy, Harry's not used to that yet.' Sirius thought. 'She was lucky with Ron. She's used to being one of the guys, but how will she react when they treat her like a girl, and leave her out of their conversations? Will she blame me then, because all I can do is sit and watch her go through these changes?' Sirius thoughts were riddled with guilt and confusion. He wanted to protect her, yet he knew he had to allow her to live in the world. He wanted to keep her in a bubble, but her parents hadn't given their lives for her to live that way.  
"I don't think then was a good time to tell her we were sat?" Sirius asked.  
"Do you think we should go after her?" Remus asked no one in particular.He failed to realise that the only other person in the room was Sirius. Severus had incredible stealth and had left the room straight after Harry.   
"No. Leave her. She needs time. She's got Lily's temper hey, Remus?" Sirius replied. He sat down on Harry's bed, his head in his hands. "She's right though. We should have helped her. We should have done something, not just sat there."   
Remus stood in front of Sirius. "Why don't we go back to our room? It appears Severus has left, and if Harry returns here we are not the people she is exactly best pleased with." He walked over to the fire. 'Incendio' the fireplace burst into life. Remus held out the floo powder to Sirius. He got up from the bed begrudgingly and took some. Throwing it into the flames he followed Remus.   
Remus was worried about Harry. He was glad that he could be there for both Sirius and her, but wondered if Harry would find it easy to confide in him. He would have no trouble getting Sirius to talk, they went way back, and Sirius was like a brother, they were so close that it was easy to tell what the other was thinking. Harry however may not be able to confide in him, or in Sirius or anyone else. Remus worried about this, and it would mean Harry would be bottling up her emotions, and there would be another explosion like the scene that they had just seen. He made a mental note to offer her extra tuition, in a hope that this special bond may help her to trust and feel more comfortable with him, so that she would want to vent her emotions.   
Sirius was concerned also. He was confused, as Harry's femininity both worried him and excited him. He wondered if Harry realised just how much power she had, and if she understood the dangers she faced. He realised that he was attracted to his goddaughter, and wondered what James' would say about it if he were alive. He knew he could talk to Remus about it, but worried that if he got on too well with Remus that Harry may not want to talk to either of them. He hoped she was ok, and that Severus had followed her.   
Meanwhile Harry had thrown her cloak over her and started to run. She had picked up her invisibility cloak. She knew she must not be seen and headed for the lake. She ran down the stairs, out the Gryfindor common room and down the stairs to the main doors. She didn't stop running until she got outside. She stopped to catch her breath for a moment then started to walk towards the lake. She didn't know why but it seemed a place of comfort for her, and she knew that there she could guarantee that it would be safe for her to remove her cloak. Few people went to the lake in September, and even fewer went in the first week of term.  
She sat down beside the lake and pulled off her cloak. She sat for a moment, letting her emotions flood over her. She didn't know how to handle it all. She was not used to the emotions she was feelings as a girl, so she was left vulnerable to the pain of every emotion that had risen during the confrontation. She felt in her pocket, and found what she'd put in there.  
She drew it out. It was a dragon bone knife. A fight broke out in her mind. She hadn't used it since the summer holidays. She'd given it up, put it all behind her. She didn't want to do it again. Did she? It had been a release though. So powerful had it been that it had taken away her pain for days on end. Left her free to live life. She ran her finger down the blade, checking its sharpness.   
"Ouch" the blade was sharper than she remembered and she had cut her finger open. She felt the blood escape out the cut and with it her pain.   
She made up her mind then. She put the blade against the back of her left wrist and ran it up, making a small yet deep cut. She did it again, making five marks before she felt the crimson blood run down her hand. Her emotions had run out with it too.   
The blood had dripped onto the ground in front of her, and it was then she remembered that she should wash her arm. If she let it bleed too much then it could get infected. And the idea of explaining how the cuts got on her arm to Madam Pomfrey, Hogwarts matron was not appealing. She walked over to the edge of the lake and knelt down, lowering her arm into the crystal clear water. It stung momentarily, but then the coolness took over, filling her up with peace. The crimson blood swirled in the water and she stared at it for a moment. In her minds eye she could see intricate patterns in the mixture of blood and water, and as she watched it, her emotions faded.   
She watched the giant squid as it came to the surface, as though sensing that someone was watching for it. Harry loved the giant squid, and she loved watching it when she had things on her mind. For some reason watching the squid filled her with memories of the past, both happy and sad. But she liked to remember, well most things she liked to remember. Memories after all were what keep you company at the dead of night, when the people you want most are in your mind, you know that you are never alone.   
Unknown to her a shadowed figure watched her from the trees. He had seen the young girl cut herself, and now he stood and watched her as she bathed the cut. He wondered if he should approach her, but knew better. There would be a better time, a better place. She would need to learn to trust him first. He decided to watch her until she returned to the castle, knowing that she was vulnerable being out on her own.   
He was caught off guard by the emotions that flooded him about her. He always tried to avoid emotional attachment, but Miss Potter was different. He felt a duty to her, and he also felt that when with her, new emotions that he had only felt a long time ago were stirred. He puzzled over this dilemma as he watched her, checking that she would not try anything stupid, and watching to see if anyone else had seen or could see her.   
Harry stayed by the lake for about an hour. She skimmed stones out across the lake, and watched the squid until she finally realised that she had been gone a while, and that given her manor when she had left, her protectors may be concerned, and that possibly she owed them an apology.   
She got to her feet reluctantly, threw the cloak back over her, and headed towards the castle. She carefully made her way to the portrait of the fat lady. 'Aladdin's cave' Harry mumbled. The portrait swung open and Harry walked through. The common room was empty with the exception of a few third years. Harry walked over to the stairs that led to the girl dormitories and on reaching the staircase, entered her room.   
She looked around, hoping she was alone. No such luck. A large black dog was sat on her bed; it's tongue lolling out its mouth.   
"Go away Sirius. I don't want to talk to you!" he pushed him off the bed. Sirius looked at her with puppy eyes and whimpered. "Puppy eyes are _not _going to work Sirius." She looked into his eyes again, hey were a soft brown colour. She felt her heart melt as he cocked his head to one side. She smiled and affectionately scratched him behind his ears. He wagged his tail and barked, acting like a young puppy.   
"I am forgiven then," Sirius said, transforming back into his human form.   
"No, _Snuffles_ is forgiven." She smiled and started to walk away from him. He grabbed her round the waist and spun her around, and she fell into his arm. He tilted her head up so their eyes met and he pushed her hair off her face.   
"I'm sorry Harry. I didn't want to sit there and watch, but it would have made things worse if I'd got involved. Remus was practically restraining me! You're my Godchild Harry. It was so hard to watch you go through that. I'm so proud of you though; your parents would be too. Especially James."   
Harry looked into his eyes and smiled, the thought of her parents being proud of her made her feel warm and content inside.   
"Um, Harry, Dumbledore asked me to tell you that he will be announcing your true identity tonight. He wishes for you to be there"   
"Ok" she said. "How long have I got to get ready?"   
"Half an hour. Dumbledore will come and get you when it's time." Sirius transformed back into his animagus form and let Harry give him a quick pet before he headed for the door. He jumped on the door handle to open it, and he let his long bushy tail close the door behind him.   
Harry took a quick shower, reappearing ten minutes later with her hair wrapped in a towel. She was wearing the same clothes as earlier, minus the black top. She walked over to her mirror and looked in it, unwrapping the towel from her head. She picked up a brush and ran it through her hair. It felt weird to brush long, sleek hair, as she was so used to the short, untidy hair that she used to have. Dumbledore appeared suddenly behind where she was stood, and she smiled at his reflection.   
"Are you ok child? You look troubled."   
"It has to be tonight doesn't it?" Harry asked, unable to hide the fear in her eyes from her oldest mentor.   
He looked down at her and smiled, his blue eyes reflecting his honesty. "Yes Harry, they need to know as soon as they can. For united we are strong, and part of unity is there being no big secrets." He watched Harry play with her hair uncomfortably for a moment, as she tried to find a suitable style. "Let me help" he said, and with a flick of his wand her hair twisted itself into gentle curls, showing off the shape of her face.  
Harry took a satisfied look in the mirror, and zipped up her boots. She looked self-consciously at her reflection. "Harry, relax. You may not realise it but you are very pretty. Enjoy being the way that nature intended for you to appear, and make the most of what nature has given you." Dumbledore held out his arm, offering for her to take it. She accepted it, smiling as she linked hers around his.   
"I expect the Order Of The Phoenix know about me by now?"   
"I thought it best they found out, as soon there will be numerous owls informing parents and friends about this revelation." Dumbledore looked at Harry, searching to check that she could take what he had to say. "That means the Death Eaters and Voldermort will know too. And I doubt Voldermort will be happy that you are indeed a witch." Harry regarded Dumbledore and nodded.   
"What happens happens."  
They walked to the great hall in silence. Each enjoying the others company. Dumbledore enjoyed seeing Lily and James' daughter in the way that she was meant to be, and was as proud of her as though she was his child. Harry enjoyed being in the presence of such a powerful wizard.  
Harry was left at the doors to the Great Hall, waiting for Dumbledore to introduce her to her classmates.  
In the Great Hall, Dumbledore stood in front his seat. He tapped his goblet with a knife, waiting for the Great Hall to fall silent. It was almost eerie as they did, as the sky of the Great Hall showed a clear and starry night, with a bright half moon. Everyone looked at Dumbledore, and as the last person fell silent Dumbledore began.  
"I have an announcement to make about a fellow student." Ron looked at Hermione as a ripple of murmured conversation spread through the room. Several wondered if someone had been killed, others wondered if someone had been expelled. As the hall fell silent Dumbledore continued again. "As I reminded you at the welcoming feast only a few days ago, Voldermort has returned to power, and it is only a matter of time before the horrors that once were will return again. It is not that we look for hope. And hope we have. Here is one witch who has the potential to defeat Voldermort. And now the time has come for her true identity to be revealed. She has been disguised as a boy for her protection, and now I would like you to show support to Harry Potter." With that he raised his goblet. As she entered the room, heads turned, and more goblets were raised.  
As she sat down at the Gryfindor table, there were many different reactions. A few of the boys wolf whistled, cheers, hollers, and cries of shock were mixed, along with the stunned silence that said more than words could.  
Dumbledore looked over at her, his eyes twinkling with the smile that played across his lips. She hoped Sirius was there, and as she looked around, she could see him sat by Remus' feet, an almost smile could be seen on his dog features. Professor McGonagall looked at Harry over her glasses, and nodded her head. Snape's eyes kept a watchful eye on her, and she wondered how he felt, as his face remained its normal impassive look.  
As she tucked in to the food that had appeared before her she was being asked more questions then she knew how to answer. People came over to her, talking to her and asking her questions, about past, present and future. She was amazed by the acceptance of everyone, and more so by the acceptance of some of the Slytherin. She knew they weren't all like Malfoy and his friends, but it still surprised her.  
After the feast she went upstairs and stayed in the Gryfindor common room. Lee Jordan and his friends had decided it was an excuse for a party, and had been to the kitchens and returned with plenty of food. No one tried to stop the party, as it was a cause to celebrate. They had new hope in dark times, and what better way to celebrate then with a party. Just as Harry started up towards her room, Hermione caught up with her.  
"Harry wait!" Harry turned around to face Hermione. "I'm sorry about earlier. I was just shocked, and I guess I was scared of losing Ron. I would hate to lose you too. We still mates?" Harry looked at Hermione shocked for a moment then smiled at her.  
"Of course were mates. Just next time can you just hex me into the next century, because man do your slaps hurt."  
Harry found the door to her room and muttered her password. She had been told to change her password on a regular basis, and Dumbledore had charmed her door. Her fireplace was connected to Remus', Snape's and Dumbledore' should she ever need her protectors, and Sirius was staying with Remus.  
Hermione followed Harry into her room and sat on the bed. Harry shut her door, and sat down beside Hermione. They started to talk about girly things, and Harry was soon receiving a make over. Hermione gave Harry some make up, and helped her to apply it. Harry chose all natural colours, as she wasn't use to make up, and didn't want to appear slutty. Hermione showed Harry how to plait her hair, and how to put it into a ponytail. After a bit of practise Harry got the hang of it, and was able to successfully put her hair up. When Hermione left the room a few hours later, Harry fell back onto her bed, content that she still had both her best friends.  
Something inside her stirred, and she tried to place it as she fell asleep.  
She had been asleep a few hours when the dream began. It started slowly and hazy at first, and Harry was not bothered by the dream. Then it began.  
Her mother was stood playing with Harry. She would tickle her toes, and Harry would gurgle, making her mum smile. James had come and stood beside Lily, and kissed her as Harry gurgled again. Harry reached out for a large soft toy, a stag. Pwongs it had been called, as she reached out for it. James took his wand and levitated Pwongs over to Harry, and she cuddled it smiling. James then gave Harry his wand, knowing the child was too young to perform magic. "Say Abracadabra" Lily said, and Harry would gurgle and try and say it. This would make Lily smile, as a muggle-born this was a phrase she had heard so often as a child. Harry reached for Pwongs again and hugged it, letting go of the wand. James kissed Lily again and she smiled.  
Then there was an almighty crash. Lily's face suddenly looked worried, and James grabbed his wand from beside his daughter, concealing Harry back into a boy. There was another crash and the whole house shook as a manic laugh was heard. James rushed to the door.  
"Lily run. I'll hold him off." James' voice sounded desperate.  
"No, I wont leave you here to die!" Lily picked Harry up in her arms, as the child began to cry.  
The dream flashed, and she was on the floor, her dead mothers arms still around her. She was holding Pwongs and two piercing red eyes were staring at her.  
  
Harry awoke with a scream and her scar burning. She was sweating but was freezing cold. She felt alone, and longed for the comfort of her Godfather. She went to the fire and flooed to Remus' room. As she stepped out the flames she realised that both he & Remus were sound asleep, and that it would be unfair to disturb them. Sighing she flooed back to her room.  
As she lay on her room she stared around. Inside her feelings of loneliness and fear started to take over, as she looked around in darkness for a glimmer of hope.  
She felt her scar start to prickle with intense pain again, and she quickly got up and ran to the fire. She ran over to the fire, threw floo powder onto the flames, thrust her head into the flames and cried 'Snape's Office' Her head spun but the rest of her remained firm on the ground, and when she stopped spinning she saw Snape pacing the floor of his office. "Snape, help me!" Snape's head immediately snapped round to look at the fireplace. Seeing Harry's pale, fear stricken face, he knelt next to the fireplace. But as he knelt, the flames flickered and she was gone.  
He immediately flooed to her room, praying to whatever God would listen that she was ok. When he landed in her room he looked around in the darkness. As his eyes swept the far corner of the room, he saw Harry crouched, arms hugging her legs. Her eyes were tiny and white and he could see her chest rising and falling with quick erratic breaths.  
His arm burnt stronger again, and he automatically reached for it. As he did so, Harry screwed her face up in pain.  
"Miss Potter...Harry, it's ok. I'm going to help you onto your bed ok?" Harry nodded and Snape helped her to her feet, walking her over to her bed. She lay down on it trembling.  
"He knows Professor. I had a dream, he knows I'm a girl and he's angry." She looked at Snape with fearful eyes.  
"I know Harry, he tried to summon me. The mark has never burnt with this anger or intensity for a long time." Harry whimpered in pain again, as her scar burnt.  
Snape brushed Harry's hair back off her face revealing her scar. It was as red as though it had happened recently, not one she had carried for 16 years.  
Snape suddenly felt the pain in his arm reduce. He knew that he needed to help Harry before Voldermort had chance to call him again. He pulled his wand out, and cast a sleeping spell over Harry. Her eyes started to close and Snape smiled as she relaxed as she fell into a dreamless sleep. He settled himself in an armchair near her bed, knowing she should not be left alone.  
  
**A/N Sorry this took me so long to upload, I've been really busy, and this chapter is 10 pages on word. I'm afraid that this story is now at the bottom of my priorities as it is taking my focus off God, and I need to focus more on him. I will write, but God is waaaaaay more important. Ok?**


	6. Consequences

**Consequences**

Harry woke with as the morning light filtered in from the window. She didn't want to wake up, she was still short of energy, but she knew that going back to sleep would make no difference. She reached over and put on her glasses, then sat up. Severus was sat marking homework next to the fire, his normal scowl looking at the paper he was marking.

"Good morning Miss Potter." He said without looking up. "The Headmaster has requested that we eat breakfast with him, as he wants to know what happened last night."

"Call me Harry when we're not in lessons would you? Everyone else does."

"Ok. Harry." He tested the word on his tongue. "You have 15 minutes to get ready, then I expect to see you in Dumbledore's office." With that he left the room, allowing Harry the privacy to get dressed.

Harry stood up and was immediately washed over with exhaustion. The party last night had drained her, and the dream had sapped the little reserve of energy she had from her. She let her mind wander as she stepped into the shower.

Last night people had asked her a whirlwind of questions. Most people were astounded to find that the guy they had hung out with for the 5 years was in fact a girl. Most reactions had been positive. Now that Hermione had accepted her things seemed more bearable. The Quidditch team had laughed and said that not only was Harry an amazing seeker, she was the prettiest one too. Neville had smiled, and accidentally dropped the goblet he was drinking from whilst he was talking to her. Cho had avoided her like the plague, the same as Draco and his cronies had. Ginny had given her a huge hug, which had meant the most of all to Harry. Ginny had accepted her as an almost surrogate sister, after realising that the Harry she had been in love with didn't really exist.

Harry stepped out of the showers warmth and wrapped a towel around her. Looking at her watch she realised she only had 5 minutes before she was meant to be in Dumbledore's office. She hurriedly started to dress, her fingers fumbling as she fought with the clip on her bra.

"I haven't got the time or the energy for this!" she exclaimed as the clip finally fastened. She reached for her clothes, but her head started to spin. She grabbed the sink to steady herself but missed, and collapsed in a heap onto the floor.

Sirius and Remus were both worried as they headed to Dumbledore's office. They wondered what could have caused the headmaster to be so worried about Harry, and they rushed to find out the cause.

When they entered the room they found Severus pacing up and down impatiently. They sat down, but Severus continued to pace.

"Severus, sit down. She'll be with us soon." Severus took the seat Albus had motioned to, and continued to look impatient.

After half an hour, Remus and Severus were both worried for Harry. Sirius was starting to get impatient, and was questioning Snape to see if he had deliberately miss-instructed Harry. Dumbledore too was unable to hide his worry. He sent each of the prÿÿectors to search for Harry, and he went to talk to the house elves, to see if they had seen Harry.

Severus had been sent to check Harry's room. He realised that the room was in the same condition it had been in earlier that morning, apart from the open wardrobe door, and the wand that was on the bedside cabinet. He checked the bathroom door, and found it was locked, although the shower was still running.

"Harry?" Snape rapped on the door. Harry groaned from inside. "Harry!" Without thinking of the consequences he took out his wand and unlocked the door. Steam billowed out and as it cleared, Severus saw Harry's half-naked crumpled form on the floor.

Severus blushed as he knelt beside her. With a flick of his wand she was dressed. He looked at her for a moment, taking in her beauty. 'She isn't of age you fool. And here you are, letting her make you feel like a schoolboy with his first crush! It's ridiculous, why would she ever be interested in you! You're letting her get into your heart you fool, don't let this happen, not after last time, you know what pain love can bring.' Severus was surprised by how quickly his fondness of Harry had grown. Maybe it was last night that had caused it; seeing her in a light he had never seen her in before, he realised that she was not the celebrity people, including him thought she acted like. He knew that he was wrong to have judged her that way.

Snape leant forward and picked up Harry in his arms, as he did so the sleeve that had slipped down exposed her arm. He quickly set Harry down on her bed and examined the arm more closely. He had seen her at the lake cutting herself, and he knew she had done it before, but he never realised just how much or how deep. He was amazed at the intricacy of the cuts too; they almost formed a pattern, along with the scars. Severus cast a concealing charm over her arm, knowing that it was her business and not for him to disclose to the others. Picking her up in his arms again he carried her back to Dumbledore's office, where the others would no doubt have returned to.

They looked up as Severus entered and lay Harry on the couch. Dumbledore looked at Severus, his blue eyes questioning.

"She's exhausted, last night must have drained the last of her energy. She was exhausted through lessons last week, and her body found its limit." Snape stated, his impassive face hiding his true emotions.

"Severus, do you have any energy potion in your office?" Dumbledore enquired.

"Yes, I made a fresh batch for Poppy before the beginning of term, and I kept a small quantity of it. If you intend to give it to Harry it will have to be injected, she's too weak to drink it." He arched his brow, knowing that the Headmaster disliked the use of injecting potions. He wondered why his mentor intended to wake the girl, instead of letting her regain the energy she so badly needed Dumbledore merely nodded, his concern for Harry's lack of energy growing. He had not realised that Sirius death could have caused her to lose a lot of her energy, and that she had not had chance to regain that energy in the week that she had been back at school. He had underestimated her ability to cope with all that had happened.

Severus returned with the green potion in a syringe. Sirius had moved to sit with Harry's head resting on his lap, and was stroking her hair. Severus knelt by Harry and looked at Dumbledore again for conformation that he was ok with what was about to happen. Dumbledore nodded, and Severus tapped the syringe to remove the air from it.

Sirius looked away. "Can't handle the sight of a little need Black?" Snape sneered, injecting the potion into Harry's arm.

Her eyes flickered as he pushed the plunger down, and she started to try to pull away. "Keep her still Black!" Severus hissed.

"I'm trying Snivellus!" He turned his attention back to Harry. "Harry calm down. It'll all be over in a minute. It's ok." He stroked her hair, trying to ease her evident distress.

Severus took a step back as he withdrew the needle. The potion took a few minutes to take effect, but soon Harry's green eyes flickered over. She wrinkled her brow, as she tried to form together a sentence. She was still tired, all the potion had done was made her awake.

"Where am I?" She murmured.

"Dumbeldore's office. You gave us quite a scare when you didn't arrive." Harry thought again, trying to determine if it was Sirius or Remus that had spoken. She tried to think as well why she had not managed to reach Dumbledore's office. She suddenly remembered and her voice grew sharp.

"Who brought me in here?"

"I did." That voice was Snape. Harry was sure of that.

"How did I get dressed?"

"What! Where did you find her Snivellus! You better not have been perving on her!" Sirius snarled, leaping to his feet and grabbing Snape by the collar. He forgot that Harry had been resting on his lap, and she groaned as her head hit the couch with a thump. Remus sat where Sirius had been, and moved Harry's head to rest on him. Sirius was ready to hex Snape when Dumbledore intervened.

"If you wish to be enrolled as a teacher on Monday I suggest you stop where you are Sirius, and let Severus explain. I don't tolerate violence between my staff or pupils, especially not two who are supposed to be protecting a vulnerable girl."

Sirius glared, dropped Severus from his grasp and sat down glaring.

"I found Harry collapsed in the bathroom. I can only assume that she collapsed whilst trying to clothe herself. I certainly was not doing what you think Black, and if I hadn't gone in there, she would still be unconscious now. She was in her underwear, and I felt it proper that she should be clothed before I brought her here. She's a lady and deserves to keep her modesty."

Sirius growled. He was both angry and jealous. Angry because it had been his enemy that had found his Goddaughter, and also because of the way that Harry had been found. He was jealous for the same reasons too. 'Sirius, get a grip! She's underage, she's your best mates daughter, and you're her legal guardian. What would people think! You should be worrying about her health right now anyway! Not fantasising about what she is...or isn't wearing!' Sirius scolded himself.

Remus lycanthrope meant that his senses were more alert, and as he looked at Sirius he knew that he was more than just angry. He made a mental note to talk to him about it.

"Child, we need to talk about you dream last night Severus said it obviously distressed you greatly last night and we need to know what the dream was about. He cast a sleeping charm on you to get you to sleep afterwards, as you were too distressed. I Know you won't want to relive the memory, so you are welcome to use my Pensieve, if you wish."

Harry reluctantly got up, choosing the easier option from talking about it. She put her wand to her temple and drew out the silvery, delicate strands of last nights dream. She placed them into the basin and sat back down, allowing Dumbledore to stare at the thoughts as they swirled around inside the Pensieve. He prodded the thoughts with his wand and the dream rose out of it.

Remus, Sirius & Snape watched it intently with Dumbledore, while Harry turned and buried her face into Remus' arm. She did not want to remember. Fawkes flew over and rested on the arm of the chair next to Harry, and started to sing. The song lifted Harry's soul, and gave her the courage she needed. She looked back as the dream ended, and saw Dumbledore's grave face.

"Child, have you dreamt this dream before?"

"No, I've had dreams of my parents before, but none like this."

"Did you occlude your mind before you went to bed last night."

"Um." Harry suddenly realised that to say the truth would land her in trouble; there again, to lie could land her into trouble as well. She decided on the lesser of the greater evils. "No. I haven't occluded my mind since being in the Department Of Mysteries."

"You need to occlude your mind every night Harry. I think it may be wise if you restart your occlumency lessons with Professor Snape again, until he is satisfied with your ability again. Now Voldemort is getting stronger, you need to defend your mind a lot better." Dumbledore did not ask for Snape's permission for him to teach Harry. It was not an optional thing. Snape would have to do it.

"Harry, you need to rest, else you're not going to manage lessons tomorrow. You're to spend the rest of today in your room, resting and relaxing. You will not leave you're room until I say so. All your meals will be brought to your room by one of the house elves, so don't worry about going to the Great Hall tonight." Harry rolled her eyes as Dumbledore said this.

"I'm fine. Honestly. I was just shaken up from the dream, it wasn't important. I don't need to rest, I just need to take my mind off the dream."

"I could always bring you up some dreamless sleep potion, Potter." Snape smirked.

"That's quite alright, thanks. Wouldn't want to waste your precious supply." Harry smirked back. Snape arched his brow, pleased that the girl could be as sarcastic as him.

"Child, it is not just last night that has drained your energy. You are very weak still from the recent and not quite so recent shocks you've had."

Sirius got to his feet. "Come on you naughty pup, I'll walk you to your room."

The two left the office and headed along the corridors back to the Gryfindor common room. Sirius broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell me last night about your dream, love?"

"I tried. You were asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake you."

Sirius stopped, outside Harry's room. He cupped her chin in his hand and brought her eyes to meet with his.

"Harry, if you ever need to talk to me, or tell me something, no matter what time of day or night, you always always can. I will always be here for you."

"I know." Harry walked over to her bed, exhaustion overcoming her. She wanted to sleep so badly, and lay down on the bed. Within minutes she was sleeping, dreamless yet peaceful sleep.

A/N sorry that this chapters short, ive been really busy, and my chapter was originally too long. Ill try and update a bit quicker next time.


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